upheld by the love and gratitude of a com munity, and not by the arbitary enactments power. Give the poor man his share in the advantages that, lt-cl him out here. Give him the means of advancing himself and of maintaining and educating his children, as his conscience a.nd his love instructs him to educate them. Give him thpse and he will lie contented, he will be loyal. Take from him the cold sickness of hope deferred, which was now paralizing all his exertions, and throw ing their blight over every hetterexpectation, every tie which should attach him to the colony ; which embitters the memory of his lost home, and presents a future of gloom and despair. Give him this mea ure, that he may feel that he has some inducement of use the exertions, of which he is capable. That he may see before him something to hope, something of happiness in life, and that when he goes down into the grave, he may leave behind him, a prospect of bread for his children, unsolicited at. the hand of charity.

Mr. Alderman Macdermott moved the second resolution, as follows: — 2nd. Moved by Alderman Macdermott; seconded by Mr. Coyle. " That as the middle and working classes including what may be denominated the yeomanry of a country, constitute the great hulk of its population ; and as it is by these classes that its natural resources are mainly developed, national wealth accumulated, and national inde pendence secured : Resolved — That it is incumbent on the Government to bestow the deepest consider ation on any measure calculated to improve the social and physical condition, and to elevate the moral, intellectual, and religious character of this important class." In moving this resolution, he could say that lie was no new advocate of the great measure which they were called together to consider. r jt was full five years ago since he had first ' broached this doctrine, and he had then the 'temerity to propose the adoption of a simi lar scheme, in opposition to those who were then considered the leading men of the colony. Ho was laughed at, at that, time, his proposition was treated with ridicule and contempt, for distress at that period did not exist: wages were high and money plen tiful then. und the idea of a day of adversity

wasscouted with disdain. Thatday, however, had arrived, and d:fferent opinions, altered sentiments had grown up with it. They were now called upon to consider this mea sure at a period of distress, but in looking at it with reference to this colony, he re garded it still in the same light as he had formerly done. He believed . of this colony, as of any other country, that without .the establishment of a rural population — a pro ductive population, that it could not ad vance and prosper. In its golden days he had felt this, and he felt so now ; but if the argument in favour of the measure were powerful then, how much more strong were they at the present time, when thousands of mechanics and labourers were crying out for work, were seeking in vain for employ ment by which to earn bread. When he had first broached this doctrine, it was thrown in his face, that this was not an agricultural colony — that nature had never destined it to be a grain producing country, that it never could maintain a yeomanry population. Hovy, however, had these pro positions been borne out ? Were they not looked at by every man of common sense in the present day, as shallow fallacies, that

had their origin oniy in inai greeuiuesa w embark in other pursuits, seemingly more profitable, which raged like an epidemic in the land. He. denied that there was any lack of agricultural land. He challenged contradiction, when he asserted that there was alluvial land enough lying waste with in the colony, to maintain a hu.idred, aye, a thousand times its present population. But to come closer to the question, in the district of Illawavra alone, a district forty miles distance from the capital, for he was informed that when the new road. was com-r pleted the town of Wollongong would be only forty miles distant from Sydney, and to and from which, there was constant com munication by water— -iu that district alone, he was informed on authority in which he could put the fullest confidence, there was .nitoMo WnA n ../.hlti voted, which

would serve to support treble the .amount of our whole colonial population. What excuse then, he would ask, could the go- . vernment have, for withholding this land in| a time' like the present, when the people I were starving. "When the bringing it under cultivation, would' afford present re-, lief, as well as incalculably advance the after interests of the colony — what ex cuse could exist except that one, that the law was against it. Tf the -laws of Eng land were unalterable, like the laws of the Medes and Persians,, then, indeed,

there might be something in this argument ; but they were not. It was well known that alterations and modifications of those laws were taking place every day : and, if the law really, prevented the. granting of their present petition, it was ou ly a reason for their meeting again, at a future time, to pe tition for the alteration or repeal of that law.. If they failed in their present peti tion, they would next appeal to the Queen in "'Council ; and he felt that they must be prepared to back up their present exertions by subsequent efforts. If the Legislative Council would not recommend the adoption of this measure — if they would thus shew that they were not the representatives of the people, which they pretended to be — then must the people petition her Majesty themselves. He was glad to see the cause had receded the powerful advocacy of the member for Sydney. He had read, as he had no doubt most of those around him had, the powerful speech, in which that ad vocacy had been displayed; but, although (hat speech had notgainedits end, he hoped

the honourable gentleman had not given up his efforts. He trusted that he. would re new them again and again ; and; beaten at first, that he would come again to the scratch, and, shew that if he could not get the measure against the law, he was pre pared to go with the law, in the means to obtain it. With renewed efforts he felt that they would ultimately be successful. The end already seemed mueh nearer than when he had first, single-handed, proposed such a measure, and he was proud that his opinions were now supported by so powerful an ally as Mr. Wentworth. A good deal had been said, in respect to this question, about mar ried people, and the propriety of such people coming out here. It was, indeed, a new edition of the old cry, of servants wanted without incumbrances: such incum brances meaning, as everybody knew, the unfortunate children of poor, and still more unfortunate,, parents. Now, as long as there was employment to be sought this cry would never cease; but it was a little too ridiculous — too cruel

-"-iuu sciusllj uclnudu d tlid li ilou. d wilt? allu perhaps two or three children) to maintain besides himself, that he should be shut out from employment altogether. They had only to go 'a little further, and adopt the Malthusian principle altogether, and not allow the poor to marry at all. But it was not marriage alone that must be forbidden ! Fine healthy young-fellows would come out — and young women too — and the pro hibition must be extended still further . that no man shonld emigrate to this colony who could not agree not to marry, or young married couples who would promise not to breed. That seemed the only alternative ; and if they had put the stipulations at the foot of the placards, by which families and men had been induced to emigrate, how many would they have obtained ? Nature would be thwarted, the best affections chilled, and all the decencies of domestic life, violated. The natural cousequence of such a state — a state in which the colony cannot afford to support a' self -increasing labour class — must be, .that the community would be divided into two. classes — the very rich and the very poor — and in such a state of things it would soon cease to be matter of couseauence whether the faces of

the latter class where white or black, so long as they were degraded into the mere "hewers of wood and .drawers of water," into which it was at tempted to turn them. He felt that the .prospect for -avoiding this (state of things j\vas brighter np w .than it had .been. formerly, i At one time they had the whole antagonist iinfluence of the higher classes against them ; .but the season of, adversity had worked a ichange. The pressure from without was 'felt by the rich as well as the poor; and .seeing that the woiking men will take wives I — that they will beget children, they see : that for their own preservation that a pro- vision must be made for these classes, and thus it was, that something like freedom might at length be seen to dawn in the Le gislative Council. The latter part of the

resolution entrusted to him touched upon the effect of this measure the on moral , and intellectual condition of the working classes. 3T preceding speaker had forcibly alluded .to the .impossibility, under the present system, I of giving to the children of the poor, that education which it was the aim of all, wise Troverninents to provide for the rising generation of its people. It was not in the nature of thiugs that under the present dis persed condition of the population in the interior, that a sufficient number of children could be gathered together to give thera

that instruction, moral and intellectual, which was required. Educational establish ments could not be formed under such cir cumstances, and it was to be feared that too often the parents had not either the time or the ability to teach their children them selves. If education were good for any thing — if it imposed any restraint on those wild passions to which our nature is subject — surely it must be of paramount im portance amongst a class where the ordi nances of religion were almost unknown, and where social and domestic restraints were so little observed. But, without flying schoolmasters, 110 such education could be provided ; and the employer of every shep herd who was obliged to retain his children in this state of ignorance, was responsible, deeply responsible, for the great and positive evil he was thus inflicting on such children, and on the community. Clergymen could not be found for every sheep-station, and where could the children of the shepherd be sent to learn the nrecents of religion, except thev were sent

to Sydney — stained, as it was, with all the vices and temptations of a crowded city. The next point to which he would come, referred to the growing uf corn. As yet, by hook or by crook, they had managed, by pur chasing, to get enough for use ; but what, he would ask, would be our condition in time of war — when the enemy's cruisers were off the port, ready to seize every vessel which came, laden, to supply the want of bread, to the otherwise destitute half of their population. If they could not grow com for exportation, at least they ought to grow enough for their own consumption. They ought not to be dependent for main tenance on sources which might, at any minute, be cut off. This measure would enable them so to supply themselves : and for this, as well as for the other reasons he had expressed, he had great pleasure in moving the resolution. Mr. Councillor Coyle felt highly honored at being called 011 to second the resolution, when lie looked at the way in which the repeated appeals to the working classes

naa oeen ireateu, tie ieu lnueeu, mat. 11, was time for every man to come forward with energy and determination to do his duty. Mr. Coyle then alluded to the distress, and expressed himself perfectly satisfied, from his own observations, that its amount had pot been over-rated, and concluded a short hut emphatic speech, by cordially approving pf the remedy which was proposed in the petition they were met to adopt. Mr Wells, after reading the resolution placed in his hand, stated, although he had hot taken any part lately in the momentous proceedings, he had j been marking the progress of the distress stalking , through the lane and threatening the disruption of j every family iu the colony. He had not been a heedless spectator of the wants of the labouring classes. He had for a long time been busily em ployed in preparing statistics, all bearing upon the objects for which the meeting was convened, and which essentially belonged to the resolution placed in his hands The 20 counties of the . colony con tained 25,693,467 acres ofland. In August, 1831, the granting of land ceased up to that period. 1 000,000 of acres were granted to the Australian Agricultural Compeny, 437,102 of which are in the 20 counties, the remainder 562,898 are at Liverpool Plains, outside the boundaries. There were also granted to other individuals 3,835,744 acres ; and at that time, namely, 1831, there were only a po pulation of 65,000 souls, including prisoners, men, women, and children, which to each individual ' averages 60 acres each. There have also been

— 0 yon see that 79 individuals have the smaller .quantities of the best land averaging 10,641 acres each, aad the .company taken as one— -a million. iThe result is upon reflection, if 10,641 odd aures .were necessary in the advancement of the interests of the colony to one individual, how much more so must 60 acres be necessary to a man with a large family ; and if one individual can manage the said 10,641 acres,. what in the name of common sense is to hinder any prudent and honest man frotn managing 50 acres, seeing that these latter persons are the very individuals who have been entrapped fot the purpose of carrying on their agricultural and pnstoral speculations of 10,641 acres each. It is a must preposterous argumennt to hold out that when the industrious working man asks for

his share of land to keep his family upon, arid assist in the forming of a sound yeomanry com munity, and the wholesome introduction of a class that forms after all the machinery of a country, in thedevelopement of its resources and moral strength should be left out of all consideration . There's no such parallel of cruelty and absurdity in the whole world, it is gross political ignorance no man ever yet dreamt of entertaining it till lie came to the anti podean misrule of New South Wales. Now, what ought the government to do p Dr. Lang said very justly, where there's a will there's a way. But the ways of the government of New South Wales ap peared so crookedly laid out for the benefit of the labouring and working classes, that it seems the broad way is surveyed ' only for the higher classes, and that the other may be flogged out of town into the bush to get their bread how they can, whether paid their wages or not. Port Hacking, only about sixteen miles from Sydney Heads, one of the finest harbours in the world, and as capacious as Port Jackson, with some of the finest land in the coun- tiy, only about 500 acres wore taken up. As many as 150 families could be sent off and located there in twenty-hours time. Little expense of convey ance. and less for police 1 equirements would be re quired. Jervis Bay again, Twofold Bay another, Manning River, Richmond River, the Clarence River, so that the country was just as open as ever for locating families, if the Government would

-oniy go rue riguu way to wont, huw, taaiug zr,u uu families at 50 acres each gives 100,000 acres, which might be disposed of in twenty-four hours, being only one-tenth of what the Australian Agricultural Company have been favoured with 1,1)00,000 of acres, on which they employed 100 souls. What an absurdity ! What a libel on the just principles of emigration, and the wisdom or humanity of the British Government ; and all these 2000 families were idle, starving, and producing nothing but dis content, misery, sickness, and dispair. He moved, " That as the disposal of the funds arising out of the sale of waste lands in the colony, to the purposes of Immigration under the Bounty System, has, by the withdrawal of the capital from .— the colony, served effectually to prevent the agri cultural occupation and cultivation of those lands, to contract the facilities of employment, and to ' create great monetary embarrassment: Resolved — That in order to the further population of the colony, by means of immigration, as well as to the establishment of those political, educational, and religious institutions, which are the pillars of a free and happy state, that any future system of immi gration that may be adopted should involve the occupation, as well as the sale, of the waste lands of the colony." Mr. Thurlow seconded the resolution which had been so fully gone into by the last speaker. They had all heard a good deal in the course of the discussion of waste

lands, but he must say, though he fully con curred in its object, that the petition they had to present would be so much waste paper in his Excellency's eyes. He felt that they must appeal to a higher quarter, in order to effect their purpose. They must go to the Queen, for he had no hope of their extracting anything from Sir George Gipps, vvho had so often rejected their ap plications before, and who had almost kicked out their last deputation. What hope could they have from a Governor, who in spite of the invitation to confer on the distress amongst the working classes, which his opening address held out, could meet the first overture of the Council in the way in which this had been met. The opening ad dress had pledged assistance to the working clasess, but the treatment of Mr. Weut- worth's motion had given the lie to that . pled e. It was true, it had one good effect. It had forced a motion for enquiry into the distress, from the Colonial Treasurer, which would otherwise never have been made; but wliat the result of this motion would be, it was yet to be seen. He did think' it a great grievance that the government should have induced the council to concert mea-

sures ot relief, only to do all in its power to frustrate those measures. He agreed with Mr. Macdermott that self preservation called for this measure. That in case of a war they would have no remedy for starva tion without it, and he felt that if the masses of population continued to be shut out from the possession of land in this colony, that they would go in search of it elsewhere. The resolution was then put and carried unanimously. Mr. Currie moved the fourth resolution, and in so doing, felt that 110 man however humble he might be, ought to hesitate in coming forward on an occasion like the present. He was sure that there had never been a public meeting held in Sydney, on a subject of deeper importance to all classes. He could not agree that the petition was A V%A«A AM An 4 1 I A 1 .t a4 A . N A . 1 1 . A M 1, A ilMAIIA/l

Weld I C JJrtpClj db IUU idbl ajJCdACl UAU tugUCU He believed that there was good to be effected by the present meeting. It would shew them whether his Excellency wanted the will as well as the power to assist them. It would be expressive of the opinion of the community, and give such publicity to that opinion, as would secure it the support of. I the general voice of the people at home. The resolution he had to propose was as follows - 4th. " That as the possession of land for the purpose of rural occupation would form a strong Incentive to the influx of a most useful class of

emigrants, and as the granting of small alio tment of land for like purposes to the unemployed opera tives. would act beneficially in the alleviation .of present distress, and hold out to them a cheering prospect for the future: Resolved— That a peti tion to his Excellency the Governor, praying that he will be pleased to take the necessary steps for putting such a plan in immediate operation, be adopted by this meeting." There were several reasons why he tlipught the government, ought to accede to this petition.. Fir.?t — because it was the Government, which Itad caused the distress by the system it. bad adopted with regard to emigration, and it was therefore bound to come forward and do something to avert, or alleviate the evil caused by its own acts. The second reason lie had, was that in past days the government, had given land to in dividuals, but the land remained unculti vated, and if t hese large pjoprietors would not, or could not cultivate the laud thus given to them, the poor he contended had a right to demand land in smaller quantities to cultivate for themselves. One speaker had called these large proprietors the lords of the soil, but he (Mr. Cuirie), contended that the soil was never made for a class, but for the general use and maintenance of the whole human race'. The third reason he had was that nearly the whole of the taxes were paid by the workingclasses,and if thegovern- ment derived its means from the working classes.it became it. to assist and relieve them. Nearly the whole taxation of' the colony, was indirect taxation and, however they might put forward the sophistry of rich men paying these taxes, they were ultimately paid out of the pockets of the consumer. He was not going to propose any motion similar to to one of which they had heard lately for stopping the supplies: but, he must tell the working classes, that - whilst the bulk of the taxes were paid by them, the remedy was in their own hands. Mr. Gurrie then went on to illustrate the feasibility of the mea sures by instancing several eases in the Cape of Good Hope, and at South Austra lia, where a similar system had been found successful, and concluded by reading and proposing the adoption of the following petition To his Excellency Sir George Gipps, Knight, Gover nor-in-chief of New South "Wales, and its Depen dencies, &c., Sec., &c. may it please your excellency We whose names are hereunto appended, beg humbly and respectfully to approach your Excellency, the representative in this colony of our most gracious Queen Victoria, as petitioners in a matisr in which we conceive the best interests of this country to be most deeply concerned. We beg to assure your Excellency that there is a great amount of distress still prevailing among the working classes of this city, and throughout the colony ; more particula-ly among married men with families. This portion too of the working classes is numerous, and to our certain knowledge contains many who are sober, industrious, and deserving men ; but by the employers oi labour, they are generally objected to, on account of their families. Such is the nature of employment too, in many of the cases in which it is offered to them, that it could not be ac cepted, but at the painful alternative of a separation from their families, and thus breaking all the en dearing and important ties of domestic life. Such a state of tilings your petitioners view with' alarm and the deepest regret ; for to us it appears as inimical to the best interests of the country, as it is destructive of the present happiness of all the parties who are so situated. We believe it is generally, if not universally ad mitted, that the yeomanry, or middle classes of society prove the best stay of a state in the hour of danger, and the most efficient safeguard against anarchy and confusion on the one hand, and tyranny and oppres sion on the other. But, to your petitioners it appears next to impossible that this important branch of the body poltiie should ever exist in this country under the present system, and if it does not exist, the per manent prosperity of the colony, we feel fully per suaded can never be secured, nor its resources he properly and duly developed. In order to the at tainment of these most important objects ; and with a Yiew of alleviating the prevailing distress among the industrious classes, we beg to solicit your Ex cellency's serious attention to the necessity, good policy, and advantage of again reverting to the system of granting small allotments of land for agri cultural purposes, formerly so successful in this colony, varying in quantity according to the number of the family to whom the grant is made, the land to be situated near to water carriage, or within a rea sonable distance of some market town, suitable for agriculture, and holding out a fair prospect of ade quate returns for the exertions of an industrious oc cupant. The arrangements to be so made as to admit of the location of five or ten families in the same vicinity, that the various institutions of education and religion might spring up with them, and thus whilst the resources of the colony would be drawn out to a degree far beyond what they ever have been, or ever can be, on the present plan of occupancy ; an intelligent, industrious, and religious population would be spread over the land ; a circumstance, which could not fail to have the happiest influence on the community to the latest generations. As a stimulus to persevering industry, the Title Deed to the freehold of the grant might be withheld say for five years after the date of it. during which .time the party to whom it is made, might be required to reside on it, and to bring, by the expiration of that period, a certain quantity of it into cultivation, on pain of the forfeiture of the grant. In order also to meet the exigencies of the case, through the pre sent poverty of the applicants, we beg respectfully to

suggest to your Excellency, that each family accord ing to its number, should be furnished with rations, say for one year, and the necessary seed and im plements ; the funds for this purpose to be taken from the Colonial Revenue, and the amount so expended to be repaid by each family on getting the title 'to the freehold of the grant. ...... . .Your petitioners would respectfully represent to your Excellency that the distress at present existent amongst the industrial classes, has been mainly in duced by the entire appropriation of the land fund for the introduction of emigrants, and as the p ospcctive proceeds of that fund are further pledged for the payment of past emigration, thpy have no prospect of obtniningjany relief from that.source; and as they have been shut out from any participation in the benefit arising from the sale of waste lands, they consider they have have a just claim for assietance from the Government in the mode your petitioners suggest : and your petitioners would further re present, thai if your Excellency should not be dis posed to recommend such alteration in the act regu lating the disposal of waste lands as would admit of making bona fide grants, then, that these allotments be sold to the operatives at a low fixed price on an extended credit — the payment to be made in instalments extending over the first seven or ten years occupancy. If some such plan as this were adopted with re gard to the settlement of this country, your peti tioners are fully satisfied that its prosperity would be placed on a sure and permanent basis, its resources would be far more effectually developed than they are ever likely to be by great, wealthy settlers, whose at tention is always likely to be confined, almost ex clusively to grazing, and many of whom have no permanent attachment to the colony itself, but design to leave it, whenever their pecuniary circumstances enable them to do so — multitudes of. families would also be comfortably and respectably provided for, who are now a burden to themselves as well'as the com munity at large, and in place of being consumers would become producers of wealth to the state, whilst the inducement would he ... held . out, which, would no doubt in thousands of instances be readily embraced, to sober, industrious, and virtuous families in the mother country, of their own accord to emi grate hither ; a circumstance, which, by presenting an extensive opening for the profitable settlement of its surplus population, could not fail greatly to en hance the value of this colony to the British Nation, and prove at the same time greatly advantageous to ourselves, by bringing to our .shores consumers of our surplus productions. Thus would Australia con tribute in" a most important manner and degree to support the greatness of the Parent State, and up hold her paramount influence in this hemisphere, whilst she herself would rise in. everything that is good, happy , and great among the nations of the earth. For these reasons we beg that your Excel lency will be pleased to take the prayer of this our humble petition into your favourable consideration, and as early as practicable, make such arrangements as may be necessary for carrying the plan into effect. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray, 8ec., 8ec. Mr. Jenkins seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously. The Mayor having left the chair, on the motion of Mr. Councillor Driver, and the same having been taken by Mr. Alderman Allen, a vote of thanks to the Mayor was passed by acclamation, after which the meet ing broke up.